LWE activities under control but increase in murders, rapes in

Activities of the left wing extremists were under control in Odisha in 2018 but there was a spate in rapes and murders during the period, a home department report said.

An average of seven women were raped and four persons murdered in the state every day in 2018, said the report by home department standing committee in Odisha Assembly on Friday.

According to the report, 2,502 rape and 1,378 murder cases were lodged in various police stations of the state in 2018, up from 2,221 reported rapes and 1,267 murders in 2017.

A total of 54 LWE-related incidents were reported in the state including 26 cases of exchange of fire between security personnel and Maoists in 2018.

"As many as 19 CPI(Maoist) cadres were killed, 339 arrested and 27 surrendered during the period," it said adding that 40 guns and 24 improvised explosive devices and ammunition were recovered during anti-Naxal operations.

"No Maoist activities were reported in Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Gajapati, Ganjam, Mayurbhanj and Keonjhar districts but situation remained challenging in Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, Rayagada, Kadhamal and Nuapada," the report said.

Expressing concern over the low rate of conviction in criminal cases in the state, the committee headed by senior lawmaker Kishore Kumar Mohanty recommended that quality of investigation and documentation be improved.

It also recommended separating investigation from law and order at least in the urban police stations to develop specialised skills among the police officers.

In 2017, 52 LWE-related incidents were reported including 15 cases of exchange of fire between security personnel and Maoists.

"Seven CPI (Maoist) cadres were killed, 35 arrested and 26 surrendered in 2017. Some 16 guns and 23 IEDs were recovered," the report said.

The LWE activities had posed a challenge then in Malkangiri, Koraput, Kalahandi, Rayagadha, Kandhamal, Angul, Balangir and Bargarh districts.

But none was reported in Gajapati, Jajpur, Dhenkanal, Mayurbhanj and Nabarangapur districts and Maoist activities were contained in Nuapada, Boudh, Mayurbhanj, Keonjhar, Nayagarh, Sambalpur, Deogarh and Sundargarh districts, the report said.

The report said that in 2018, a total of 1,07,408 cognisable cases were registered including 1378 murders and 2502 rapes.

In 2017 a total 1,03,066 criminal cases were registered. These included 2,221 rapes and 1,378 murders.

Till March 2019, 28,617 serious crimes were registered, the report added.